Elements of Schopenhauer’s and Nietzsche’s philosophy in Krleža’s novel ‘On the Edge of Reason’

Mlinarić, Josipa. (2017). Elements of Schopenhauer’s and Nietzsche’s philosophy in Krleža’s novel ‘On the Edge of Reason’. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Sociology. [mentor Čačinovič, Nadežda].

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Abstract

Miroslav Krleža is one of the most important figures in Croatian literature and history of the 20th century. His early novel ‘On the Edge of Reason’ from 1938 not only opened the door for the ideological debates in the conflict of the literary left, but also raised the issue of philosophical worldviews, the so-called ‘world outlooks’ and the value of art. In this paper, the elements of Arthur Schopenhauer’s and Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophies, two philosophers connected by the same key element the will, are researched in the novel using analytical and comparative approach. Miroslav Krleža himself did not hide the impact they had on his work, and such impact is implicitly visible in the novel itself; ranging from relation to art to the understanding of truth, morality and world. What links the whole novel is the problematisation of constructing the personal identity on one hand, while on the other hand, there is insistence on the real, social sphere which entails the political (ideological) problems. Therefore, although the novel ends in a seemingly universal resignation and chaos, which complies with the philosophies of the two philosophers, it remains open-ended and the possibility of action is left to the reader.

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